Last Stand for the Sith

Last night, the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood ran the final North
American digital projection for Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the
Sith. Media Geeks was on hand to see it one last time, as were several
dozen members from LiningUp.net
group that stood outside the Chinese Theater for weeks despite the fact
that the historic cinema would not be screening the film.

The loosely organized group began lining up for last night’s 9:10
showtime at around 8:30, a far cry from the multi-week wait that ended
with the premiere of Episode 3 on May 19th. Many of them dressed in
various stages of Star Wars attire as they did over 2 months ago. Some
wore Jedi robes, others wore film related shirts and several brought
Master Replicas prop lightsabers and similar toys. The group used their
waiting skills to raise money for the Starlight Starbright children’s
foundation via their website and the publicity gained for waiting,
ultimately, at the wrong theatre. Participants criticized Fox and
series creator George Lucas for not donating one showing of the film to
the Chinese theatre, failing to realize that theatres negotiate the
rights to show films in the area, and in this case Grauman’s lost.

Despite the sordid events for the premiere, roughly 75 members showed
up last night, as did a handful of additional fans to see it one last
time. The Cinerama Dome had several collectors pieces on display, from
posters to props, including the oft sought “Revenge of the Jedi” poster
that advertised the 1983 film prior to having its name changed.

Fans cheered as the familiar scrolling title sequence crawled across
the screen, when each of the characters appeared for the first time and
as Darth Vader’s first mechanized breathing filled the speakers of the
theatre. Mostly, it’s just another movie, a money making bit of
entertainment that has suckered people into spending ungodly amounts of
cash. For some though, this final installment is like childhood
closure, it’s a sign of growing up. There will certainly be more Star
Wars: merchandise, television, even 3D versions of the original films
but this is the last of the original films and it’s the way it should
be. Time to move on.

Besides… the DVD should be out in a couple of months!